“What is it exactly that you do, and why should I come see you?” This is a question I hear regularly these days since I opened my holistic healing practice in Minneapolis last year. “Are you a yoga teacher, a counselor, dietician, herbalist, spiritual coach, meditation teacher or something else entirely?”
I understand these questions and the confusion, because “what I do” isn’t exactly listed as a course of study in most modern-day colleges (although I’m really hoping someday my daughters will allow me to speak at Career Day in school)! On some level, the answer is “yes” to all of the above (yoga teacher, counselor, dietician, etc), including the “something else entirely”! But not just those things. And not exactly or entirely, either. Let me explain more.
In my own personal health and healing journey, I have found that my body and body’s needs have never conformed to traditional norms or ranges. I am not an “average” anything. The definitions of health and disease have always been to broad for me (or too narrow), Therefore, I have regularly sought out alternative/complementary healing modalities of all kinds in approaching my own care. I have had both success and failure, to be sure, but it is the only route I’m satisfied with being on; a traditional Western medicine route would have me on anti-depressants, steroids and who knows what else for my lifetime, feeling weak, dependent, and generally unhappy.
But even as I’ve searched out many (all?) kinds of healing modalities, I’ve not found that there is ONE thing that consistently works, every time, for every kind of ailment. Sometimes I benefit from acupuncture, or chiropractic, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I find balance through juicing; sometimes it makes me feel horrible. Sometimes the Ayurvedic diet is exactly what my body needs, and other times, I need something else entirely.
Initially, my lack of finding that one “AH-HA” healing modality made me think that I wasn’t doing them “right” or “enough” or…something. But I have come at long last to realize that at least for me, my own healing will never be one-dimensional. For example, to heal my chronic hip pain I utilized chiropractic, yoga, physical therapy, various kinds of energy work and past life regression! I know that I am meant to, and I love to, dip into the pools of all the wisdom healing traditions and modalities, including Western medicine. And therefore as a healer myself, and even as an “Ayurvedic practitioner”, this is what I aim to provide to my clients. In short, I am:
- A multi-dimensional holistic healer who views the body, mind and Spirit as inseparable
- A healer who believes in the body’s ability to heal itself no matter where it is in the “disease” cycle
- A healer who has done and is currently doing her own work, each and everyday
- A healer who knows that we all have a Soul Purpose, and we have each been given the appropriate tools, people and resources to live it fully
- A healer who sees symptoms and diseases simply as messengers conveying important messages to us about our life/lifestyle choices
- A healer who believes that there are infinite paths to healing; no one right diet/lifestyle/yoga practice, for everyone!
So with that introduction, here’s a bit more about me, and what my practice looks like, so you can know what to expect (the unexpected!) after making an appointment.
About Me
Let’s begin with paper credentials. While these are far from the most important thing for me in seeking out my own healers, it is a natural place to start. I am a certified and Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT200) with over 10 years of experience in many styles of yoga, meditation, Tantra, mantra and others. I have founded and opened my own yoga business, partnered in opening a yoga studio, led several weekend yoga retreats, and have trained dozens of students in the art of teaching yoga. I am also a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner and carry the knowledge of eating, living, and being in harmony with our true nature (Prakriti). In addition, I am currently enrolled in the Lightworkers Healing Method certification program which provides the support and knowledge I need to work with my client’s energy bodies to provide healing from deeply held wounds and belief systems. I’ve taken and continue to take extensive workshops on everything from Shamanism to human anatomy. I opened Elements Ayurveda in the summer of 2012 in the heart of the Linden Hills neighborhood in Minneapolis, MN. I consider myself an integrated, multi-dimensional healing practitioner, drawing on whatever tools are best suited for the client and in the moment.
Now that that’s out of the way, let me share with you about me that have nothing to do with paper credentials! I am a mother and a wife, a daughter and a sister, a spiritual seeker, learner, healer and teacher. I have relationships that work, relationships that are stuck and relationships that are confusing. I have gifts and talents that allow me to do my work in a creative, flexible way. I love to speak on and share what inspires me and I am passionate about my work. My goal is to work and live primarily for Spirit but sometimes my ego wins. I have fears and anxieties about my lack of worth, knowledge and abilities that creep into my life. I have moments of pure bliss and moments of pure hell. I have “diseases”, I get sick, and sometimes I just want to call in sick. Sometimes I really don’t see my headache or life pain as a gift and a messenger; I just want it to go away (thank you Advil). I am a “recovering perfectionist” and don’t always have compassion and patience with myself, but I practice every day. I make mistakes everyday, I hate paperwork and I forget people’s names easily. I sometimes hide from my True Self or from the Truth and seek shelter in unhealthy foods or habits. This is me.
But here’s the thing: I am also YOU. We are ONE. The illusion of separateness is just that, an illusion. We may have different stories, different paths, but we both know pain, we both know loss, and suffering, and we both desire peace, joy, connection, love and acceptance in this overwhelming experience called life. We are both sparks of the Divine wanting to lead the best life possible. I am a spiritual being having a human experience, just like you. And together, we can walk towards a health and well-being.
My Healing Practice
In my healing practice, I ask for a lot of “data” about you through the Intake Process. From our first meeting, I know about your diseases, your complaints, your surgeries, history, medications, etc. I evaluate them. We track them. But from the moment you walk through the door the first time, to me you are defined by none of these things! You are a Divine Being, radiating in Light and Beauty. I see your soul, I sense your potential, your gifts, your challenges. You are not your disease, your illness, your past, your mistakes or your symptoms! As I get to know you, I realize that I can’t wait to get started unwrapping the Divine package that is You!
I see you as a multi-faceted Being with several “bodies” – a physical body, emotional body, mental body and spiritual body. I see a diamond that may just need some shining up in order to reflect light more clearly. I sense your Soul shouting out “I am here! I am here!” underneath the surface. I look forward to the energy shift the world will experience and benefit from when you step into your full power, because I know that it will happen!
But we take our time. Disease doesn’t happen in a day, and, usually neither does healing. We have pain, and it is real and needs our attention. Healing is process of unraveling, little by little, the threads of pain and suffering. Healing may be uncomfortable or scary, but I believe it’s always worth the risk! Healing is opening up to the joys of life as well as the pain of life, ALL life. Healing takes courage. Healing is an adventure, not an event. Healing is truth.
The Process
We begin at the beginning – often with the physical body with the initial goal of Symptom Relief. Through the Ayurvedic principles we modify your diet, lifestyle, routines, exercise, body care, yoga and breathing exercises to more suit your unique constitution. You regain your alignment with Nature and her rhythms. But easy does it; small changes make a lasting difference as the body moves back towards Center.
Also available to you at the level of the physical body are the Ayurvedic bodywork in-office treatments such as abhyanga (full body oil massage), shirodhara (oil poured over the forehead for deep relaxation) and Udvartana (a deep lymphatic/detoxification massage). Far beyond a traditional massage experience, Ayurvedic bodywork is blissful at worst and life transforming at best!
At some point, we begin working with the level of the mental and emotional body. Some of the tools available to us here are the practices of Self-Inquiry, journaling, reading assignments, meditation practices and Sankalpa practice (intention). I often use The Work of Byron Katie to help root out deeply held belief patterns and “shoulds” as this has worked for me in several instances in my life. Depending on your comfort level, I also love to tap into Buddhist wisdom, as well as spiritual books such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Tao te Ching, or great Christian mystics and teachers such as Teresa of Avila or Thomas Keating.
This emotional/mental work is challenging, because we address thoughts and beliefs that have been long-standing your entire life – and maybe even longer if they were passed down through generations! At the same time, it is so rewarding to free ourselves, one by one, of the thought and belief patterns that underlie our actions, letting go of those that are not helpful, while simultaneously replanting new, helpful belief patterns!
And finally, the Spiritual body – the most subtle of all. Your spiritual self has a strong sense of purpose (“dharma”). Your spiritual self remembers your Soul Plan! We can get in touch with this part of ourselves through myth, stories, imagination, reflection meditation and connecting with our Guides and Angels through the Lightworkers Healing Method Divine Energy Sessions. I also have created the wonderful SuperHero Soul Adventure Group, which is always seeking new members ready to move forward on their spiritual journey!
So what do I do, and why should you come see me? Because what I do is based solely on YOU and what you are needing and ready for to begin healing. Because I believe in you even when you don’t. Because our world needs you NOW to step into full power, less the stories, the grudges and the pain, and none of us can do it alone.
Are you ready?
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